Zawaski's Shorties: On Goalies, Mumps & Morin
By Jay Zawaski-
(CBS) Nine of their last 10. Thirteen of their last 15. Over the course of the last month, the red-hot Blackhawks have catapulted themselves into first place in the Central Division and now sit two points behind the Anaheim Ducks in the West. On Tuesday night at the United Center, they captured their 45th point of the season with a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild.
Here are a few observations.
Everything is awesome -- The Hawks have had contributions from all four lines and are showing the dominance they displayed in 2010 and 2013. Perhaps most impressive are the performances of the backup goaltenders, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling. Since Corey Crawford went down eight games ago, Raanta has gone 4-0-0 with a .941 save percentage, while Darling has recorded a 3-1-0 record with a .939 save percentage (thanks to Mark Lazerus for those stats.) Those are elite numbers. So elite, in fact, that several Hawks fans have already begun writing off Crawford. Well, Crawford is set to return this weekend, and Darling has been sent down to Rockford. Looks like they're "stuck" with Crawford.
Light 'em mump – Does Duncan Keith have the mumps? This is the million-dollar question. After the game, Joel Quenneville said it's "unlikely" that the defenseman is infected with the virus, but a source tells The Score that as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Hawks don't know the result of Keith's test.
If Keith is diagnosed with mumps, he will join a list of at least 15 NHL players diagnosed. Mumps are highly contagious and could spread like wildfire around the team's locker room.
Losing Keith, 2014's Norris Trophy winner, for an extended period of time would be a disaster for the Blackhawks. His absence was obvious Tuesday night. The Hawks spent most of the first period trying, and failing, to get the puck out of their zone. He plays in every situation and is the most important piece to the Hawks' breakout. Keep your fingers crossed that he's just suffering from a cold or flu, and not the mumps.
No Morin – The flu bug kept me from processing a coherent thought for most of the weekend, so these are my first official comments on the Jeremy Morin-for-Tim Erixon trade.
If you've read my work over the last season-and-a-half, you know I was a Morin fan. That's why I'm happy this trade happened. It was clear that Quenneville was not -- and never would be -- sold on the speedy winger.
Morin wasn't playing, even when the Blackhawks had injuries in their top six. Now, Morin gets a fresh look with the Columbus Blue Jackets, while the Hawks acquire another competent, puck-moving, bottom-pair defenseman. Exiron just adds to the Hawks roster redundancy. He's a slightly more dependable David Rundblad.
However, if the Hawks weren't happy with Rundblad, why not give Adam Clendening of Klas Dahlbeck a longer look? Had Quenneville decided neither player was ready in their short call-ups? That's a pretty small sample size to make a grand declaration on two key prospects.
That said, if Quennville trusts Erixon over the kids, I guess we should trust him. The time is now for piling up Stanley Cups. The development will come as the cap dictates, but there's no need to rush any kids through the system at this point.
Tonight, join Blackhawks goalie Antti Raanta and me at Cork and Kerry (10614 S. Western Ave. in Chicago) for a Bud Light "On the Glass" event. Raanta will partake in a Q&A and sign autographs. Fans can register to win a pair of Blackhawks tickets to a game in the Bud Light Legend's Lounge (must be 21 to enter). The event begins at 7 p.m. and then we open it up until 8:30 p.m. for autographs. Be sure to arrive early. These South Side events fill up quickly. We hope to see you there.